Echo Energy plc (LON:ECHO), the Latin American focused energy company, has provided an operational update regarding further progress in the execution of the Santa Cruz Sur assets Production and Infrastructure Enhancement Plan previously announced by the Company on 7 July 2022.
The first operational priority under the Plan has now been successfully completed with all three power generation units now successfully commissioned and fully operational in the Cerro Molino Oeste, El Indio Oeste and Oceano fields, providing additional power to support existing and future production levels from, inter alia, the recommissioning of shut-in wells using the existing Santa Cruz Sur joint venture rig.
Upgrades to the workover rig owned by the Santa Cruz Joint Venture are underway. The timing of key upgrade activities are being scheduled and are dependent upon the availability of materials and third party services . These activities include an overhaul of the hydraulic system and the blowout preventer (BOP) stack.
The second operational priority under the plan is focussed on the maintenance and optimisation of the existing compressors at Cerro Norte and Campo Bremen to enable future increased volumes of gas to be processed and then sold into the main gas export line. Initial maintenance work has now commenced, and the full set of operations to optimise the compressors is anticipated to take approximately three months, based on the current parts and materials availability. These operations will be carried out with the intention of minimising disruption to existing gas production, although some impact is to be expected.
In addition to the stated objectives of the Plan, further infrastructure upgrades have been carried out in the Oceano field with the intention of increasing the amount of available sales gas. Work to convert the Oceano compressor from gas power to electrical power has now been successfully completed during a 12 day period during which, as a result of these operations requiring the Oceano field to be shut-in, total net-gas production was temporarily reduced by approximately 2 MMscf/d and net liquids production was reduced by approximately 20 bopd over the 12 day period.
Echo Energy looks forward to continuing to update shareholders on further operational progress.
